The reaction to a Winslow man’s 12th conviction for drunken driving was understandable. Get him off the road and lock him up was the general sentiment. But, when the response to any extremely unacceptable behavior is to put the person in jail – preferably for a long time – the result gets complicated. Jails are overcrowded, costs continue to rise and the offenders’ behavior likely doesn’t change.

This is what lawmakers must consider as they review a bill from Sen. Bill Diamond that would raise the maximum allowable sentence to 10 years for someone convicted of a sixth operating while under the influence offense. There are nearly 9,000 people in this category. The draft bill would also include a minimum one-year jail sentence, a lifetime driver’s license suspension, and a $3,000 fine. The maximum now is five years and a six-year license suspension, which Kennebec County District Attorney Evert Fowle did not consider sufficient for Clayton Bryant, who pleaded guilty in Kennebec County Superior Court on Dec. 4 to operating while under the influence and to two charges of violating conditions of release. He was sentenced to five years in prison, with one year suspended, followed by two years of probation.

Sen. Diamond has turned his attention to repeat drunken drivers after last year’s successful effort to boost the penalties for drivers with lengthy lists of violations and license suspensions. Tina’s Law was prompted by the death of Scarborough resident Tina Turcotte whose car was hit by a tractor-trailer truck driven by Scott Hewitt of Caribou. He was driving with a suspended license and had 63 prior driving convictions and 22 license suspensions, and was involved in a previous fatal accident. “Tina’s Law” created the crime of aggravated operating after habitual offender revocation and imposes mandatory penalties ranging from $500 to $3,000 fines and six months to five years in jail.

Both men are extreme in their disregard for Maine’s driving regulations and the outrage about their actions is well-placed. However, requiring jail terms comes at a price – increased state and local spending on incarcerated people and increased jail overcrowding.

A report, released last week by the Corrections Alternatives Advisory Committee, notes that the large increase in the number of inmates is the result of more people being sentenced to jail and staying longer, not because of an increase in crime. Mandatory jail sentences worsen the problem. In the past 20 years, the average daily population at state prisons had risen 71 percent. It has gone up 173 percent at county jails.

A potential solution is alternative sentencing programs. The state’s drug court is one avenue. Repeat drunken drivers may well have alcohol addiction problems that can’t be addressed solely by putting them in jail. Judges now require some offenders to undergo treatment as part of their probation. If the practice is to become more widespread, Public Safety Commissioner Michael Cantara rightly notes that the state should inventory where and at what cost treatment is available and find out what treatment works best for the desired outcome, such as continued sobriety and reintegration in the community.

This is more complex than sentencing someone to jail, but it is likely to be more effective.